Provocative Approaches to Serious Game Design and Analysis

Provocative Approaches to Serious Game Design and Analysis

Provocative Approaches to Serious Game Design and Analysis

Jamie Ferguson, Daisy Abbott, Sandy Louchart

Abstract

"Small Provoking Games (SPG) are physical or digital serious games that intend to incite reflection, discussion, or a shift in attitude regarding a particular application domain. They are built upon the principles of reflective game design (Khaled 2018) to “produce cognitive and affective challenge” and “emphasise a player’s sense of purpose and aim to create exo- transformation (change in attitudes and/or practice outside the game)” (Abbott et al. 2022). SPGs may be stand-alone or integrated into a more structured context such as a serious game jam, in order to provoke discussion and reflection. SPGs challenge the assumption of, and importance placed on ‘fun’ in serious gaming, focusing more on the ‘serious experience’ (Mekler et al. 2018), toward the goal of effective reflection and attitude-shifting as opposed to direct learning of content. This 3 hour workshop intends to contribute to the DiGRA community by: disseminating the notion and design philosophy of small provoking games; inciting interdisciplinary critical discussion on relevant aspects of provoking games including: ontology, methodology and pedagogy; establishing a community of researchers and practitioners that are interested in provoking games; and establish potential avenues for research, collaborations and applica-tions of small provoking games within this community."

Reference

Ferguson, J., Abbott, D., & Louchart, S. (2023). Provocative approaches to serious game design and analysis. https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/9354/1/digra2023workshop.pdf

Keywords

Reflective Game Design, Attitude Shifting, Game Design Philosophy